Introduction to The 1745 Rebellion
Portrait of Henry Pelham by William Hoare
This Archive Teaching Unit was originally written in 1975. The opportunity for a detailed study of the 1745 rebellion arose from the survival of a wide range of printed and manuscript sources about 'the '45'.
These include the private papers of Henry Pelham, first minister of the British Government of the day, which form part of the Newcastle Collection held in Manuscripts and Special Collections at the University of Nottingham.
Henry Pelham's position ensured that he was as fully informed as any of his contemporaries about the development of the rebellion. His papers contain a great deal of material both of an official and private kind, from which it is possible to reconstruct the sequence of events from Prince Charles' landing on Eriskay to the dismemberment of clan society after Culloden, both from the Government's and the Rebels' points of view.
The Archive Teaching Unit is arranged chronologically to show how developments appeared to Henry Pelham as they occurred.
One other source has been used, the Duke of Cumberland's book of Military Orders for the Culloden campaign, which is part of the Galway Collection also held in Manuscripts and Special Collections.
Next page: Background to the rebellion